Durbin calls on DOD to investigate University of Phoenix's marketing practices.
Durbin calls on DOD to investigate University of Phoenix's marketing practices.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is calling on the Department of Defense (DOD) to investigate allegations made in a Reveal article from the Center for Investigative Reporting that documents the University of Phoenix’s deceptive marketing practices and its infringement on military trademarks.
Durbin is asking the DOD to take immediate action to prevent the company from gaining further access to service members until the matter is resolved.
“The University of Phoenix is a for-profit company that makes much of its money off of service members and veterans, including $1.2 billion in GI Bill benefits alone since 2009," Durbin wrote in a recent report. "In return, the company offers degrees of questionable value, below average graduation rates and a student loan default rate almost forty percent higher than the national average."
Durbin also wrote the motivation to make profit drives the for-profit entities to engage in aggressive and deceptive marketing and recruiting techniques.
"It is clear from the article that the department has not taken this threat or its own regulations seriously," he wrote.